Boston remembers bombing victims

Mourners during a candlelight vigil for Martin Richard, 8, who was killed in the explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, at Garvey Park in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester, April 16, 2013. The day after two explosions at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured 176, no arrests had been made, and no one had claimed responsibility.JOSH HANER, NYT

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BOSTON — Third-grader Martin Richard had just gotten ice cream and was near the Boston Marathon finish line, eagerly watching for friends to run by. Krystle Campbell was enjoying the race with her best friend, hoping to get a photo of the other woman's boyfriend after he conquered the last mile.

Then the unthinkable struck. The spirited 8-year-old, pictured on Facebook in his classroom holding a sign that read “No more hurting people,” was dead, along with the outgoing 29-year-old woman and a graduate student from China — victims of twin bombs that turned a scene of celebration into chaos.

More than 170 others suffered injuries that included severed limbs, shrapnel wounds, broken bones and head trauma.

Jeff Bauman Jr., a man pictured in an Associated Press photo being rushed from the scene Monday in a wheelchair, lost both legs. Rescuers took the 27-year-old to Boston Medical Center, where doctors found extensive vascular and bone damage.

“Unfortunately my son was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” his father, Jeff Bauman, wrote in a Facebook post.

The younger Bauman, who had been at the race to cheer on his girlfriend, had further surgery because of fluid in his abdomen.

“I just can't explain what's wrong with people today, to do this to people,” the father wrote. “I'm really starting to lose faith in our country.”

While mourning the dead Tuesday, friends and neighbors tried to focus on positive memories of cherished ones whose deaths still seemed unreal to them.

“I just can't get a handle on it,” said Jack Cunningham, a longtime friend of little Martin and his family. “In an instant, life changes.”

Cunningham recalled how, as a pint-sized preschooler, the boy had insisted on getting out of his stroller during a 5K race in South Boston. As soon as his mom let him out to run with the rest of the family, Martin took off along the rainy race course.

“He was just having a ball, splashing in every puddle,” Cunningham said.

The boy's father, Bill Richard, released a statement thanking friends, family and strangers for their support.

Richard's wife, Denise, and the couple's 6-year-old daughter, Jane, suffered serious injuries in the blasts. Their older son, Henry, wasn't hurt. Two neighbors said Jane lost one of her legs in the attack.

“My dear son, Martin, has died from injuries sustained in the attack on Boston,” Richard said. “My wife and daughter are both recovering from serious injuries. We thank our family and friends, those we know and those we have never met, for their thoughts and prayers. I ask that you continue to pray for my family as we remember Martin.”

U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch, a family friend, said Martin and his family were trying to get over the race barriers and into the street after the first blast, when the second bomb struck.

“They were looking in the crowd as the runners were coming to see if they could identify some of their friends when the bomb hit,” said Lynch, who has known the Richards for 25 years.

Bill Richard, a runner and cycling enthusiast who did not run the race, had to have several ball bearings removed from his leg, Lynch said.

On Tuesday, a candle burned on the stoop of the family's single-family home in the city's Dorchester section, and the word “Peace” was written in chalk on the front walkway. A child's bicycle helmet lay overturned near the front lawn.

At a nearby park, “Pray for Martin” was written in large block letters on the pavement. Mourners later gathered for a candlelight vigil in the neighborhood.

Next-door neighbor Betty Delorey said Martin loved to climb trees and play sports with his brother and sister and the other children in the neighborhood.

“I can just remember his mother calling him, `Martin!' if he was doing something wrong,” the 80-year-old said. “Just a vivacious little kid.”

A photo of the three Richard children on Halloween in 2009 showed a smiling Martin dressed as Woody from the “Toy Story” films, complete with cowboy hat and sheriff's badge. Beside him stood Jane, dressed as the film character Jesse, and Henry, dressed as Harry Potter.

“He had that million-dollar smile and you never knew what was going to come out of him,” said Judy Tuttle, a family friend. “Denise is the most spectacular mother that you've ever met and Bill is a pillar of the community. It doesn't get any better than these people.”

She recalled having tea recently with Denise Richard, a librarian at the children's elementary school, while Martin did his homework.

“What a gift,” Tuttle said of Martin. “To know him was to love him.”

Kevin Andrews, headmaster at the Neighborhood House Charter School, said the school community was heartbroken by the loss of the third-grader, whom he called “a bright, energetic young boy who had big dreams and high hopes for his future.”

Cardinal Sean O'Malley, head of the Roman Catholic Church in Boston, said a Mass on Tuesday in Israel for victims of the bombing, archdiocese officials said. He also called the pastor of St. Ann parish in Dorchester, where the Richards attend church, to say he was praying for them.

Boston University said one of the victims was a graduate student who was watching the race with friends at the finish line, which is not far from the school. The Chinese Consulate in New York said the victim was a Chinese national, though it did not identify the student. A Hong Kong broadcaster reported the student was a woman from Shenyang studying statistics. The official Chinese news agency Xinhua reported her relatives have requested she not be identified.

In nearby Medford, William Campbell described his daughter, Krystle, as the light of his life, “a very caring, very loving person.”

“Daddy's little girl,” the 56-year-old said.

Her mother, Patty Campbell, her voice breaking into tears, said the couple was “heartbroken at the death of our daughter.”

“She was a wonderful person. Everybody that knew her loved her. … She had a heart of gold. She was always smiling. You couldn't ask for a better daughter,” the mother said. “This doesn't make sense.”

Their daughter's best friend, Karen Rand, suffered a severe leg injury in the blasts. “She's very badly hurt. She's all messed up,” William Campbell said. “Her leg was all destroyed.”

A friend and co-worker at the restaurant where Krystle Campbell was a manager described her as hardworking yet fun-loving, someone who knew how to live life to its fullest.

“We'd go out drinking and she'd work a double the next day,” Sheba Parent said. “But she was still career-oriented and focused on her goals.”

HOMELAND SECRETARY: "BE VIGILANT"

In the wake of the attack, security was stepped up around the White House and across the country. Police massed at federal buildings and transit centers in the nation's capital, critical response teams deployed in New York City, and security officers with bomb-sniffing dogs spread through Chicago's Union Station.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano urged Americans "to be vigilant and to listen to directions from state and local officials." But she said there was no evidence the bombings were part of a wider plot.

Pressure-cooker explosives have been used in Afghanistan, India, Nepal and Pakistan, according to a July 2010 intelligence report by the FBI and the Homeland Security Department. One of the three devices used in the May 2010 Times Square attempted bombing was a pressure cooker, the report said.

"Placed carefully, such devices provide little or no indication of an impending attack," the report said.

Investigators said they have not yet determined what was used to set off the Boston explosives. Typically, these bombs have an initiator, switch and explosive charge, according to a 2004 warning from Homeland Security.

"We will go to the ends of the Earth to identify the subject or subjects who are responsible for this despicable crime, and we will do everything we can to bring them to justice," the FBI's DesLauriers said.

The Pakistani Taliban, which claimed responsibility for the 2010 attempt in Times Square, has denied any part in the Boston Marathon attack.

Al-Qaida's branch in Yemen gave a detailed description of how to make a bomb using a pressure cooker in a 2010 issue of Inspire, its English-language online publication aimed at would-be terrorists acting alone.

In a chapter titled "Make a bomb in the kitchen of your mom," it says "the pressurized cooker is the most effective method" for making a simple bomb, and it provides directions.

Naser Jason Abdo, a former U.S. soldier, was sentenced to life in prison last year after being convicted of planning to use a pair of bombs made from pressure cookers in an attack on a Texas restaurant frequented by soldiers from nearby Fort Hood. He was found with the Inspire article.

PUBLIC'S HELP SOUGHT

Investigators are combing surveillance tapes and pictures from the Boston attack and appealing to the public to turn over personal photos and video that might yield clues.

"This is probably one of the most photographed areas in the country yesterday," said Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis. He said two security sweeps of the marathon route had been conducted before the bombing.

Boston police and firefighter unions announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to arrests.

Obama said officials do not know who carried out the attack or why — "whether it was planned and executed by a terrorist organization, foreign or domestic, or was the act of a malevolent individual."

But he said "any time bombs are used to target innocent civilians, it is an act of terror." And he declared: "The American people refuse to be terrorized."

Mourners during a candlelight vigil for Martin Richard, 8, who was killed in the explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, at Garvey Park in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester, April 16, 2013. The day after two explosions at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured 176, no arrests had been made, and no one had claimed responsibility. JOSH HANER, NYT
Mourners during a candlelight vigil on the Boston Common for those killed and injured on Monday in the explosions at the Boston Marathon, in Boston, April 16, 2013. The day after two explosions at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured 176, no arrests had been made, and no one had claimed responsibility. ERIC THAYER, NYT
Young children stand with lit candles during a vigil for 8-year-old Martin Richard, from Dorchester, who was killed by an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2013 at Garvey Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The twin bombings resulted in the deaths of three people and hospitalized at least 128. The bombings at the 116-year-old Boston race resulted in heightened security across the nation with cancellations of many professional sporting events as authorities search for a motive to the violence. JARED WICKERHAM, GETTY IMAGES
People gather with candles during a vigil for 8-year-old Martin Richard, from Dorchester, who was killed by an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2013 at Garvey Park in Boston. The twin bombings resulted in the deaths of three people and hospitalized at least 128. The bombings at the 116-year-old Boston race resulted in heightened security across the nation with cancellations of many professional sporting events as authorities search for a motive to the violence. JARED WICKERHAM, GETTY IMAGES
People write messages on a memorial canvas during a vigil for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings at Boston Commons on April 16, 2013 in Boston. SPENCER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES
Mourners during a candlelight vigil for Martin Richard, 8, who was killed in the explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday, at Garvey Park in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester, April 16, 2013. The day after two explosions at the Boston Marathon killed three people and injured 176, no arrests had been made, and no one had claimed responsibility. JOSH HANER, NYT
People hug and cry during a vigil for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings at Boston Commons on April 16, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. The twin bombings, which occurred near the marathon finish line, resulted in the deaths of three people while hospitalizing at least 140. The bombings at the 116-year-old Boston race, resulted in heightened security across the nation with cancellations of many professional sporting events as authorities search for a motive to the violence. SPECNER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES
People attend a vigil for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings at Boston Commons on April 16, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. The twin bombings, which occurred near the marathon finish line, resulted in the deaths of three people while hospitalizing at least 140. The bombings at the 116-year-old Boston race, resulted in heightened security across the nation with cancellations of many professional sporting events as authorities search for a motive to the violence. SPENCER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES
A woman wearing a Boston Marathon jacket, center, attends a vigil for the victims of the Boston Marathon explosions at Boston Common, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, one day after bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. JULIO CORTEZ, AP
Lauren Jones, 30, of Boston, who volunteered during the Boston Marathon and was three blocks from the site of the explosions, holds a candle during a vigil for the victims at Boston Common, Tuesday, April 16, 2013. JULIO CORTEZ, AP
People congregate at Boston Common for a vigil for the victims of the Boston Marathon explosions, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, one day after bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. JULIO CORTEZ, AP
People congregate at Boston Common for a vigil for the victims of the Boston Marathon explosions, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, one day after bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. JULIO CORTEZ, AP
Lizzie Lee, 56, of Lynwood, Wash., who was participating in her first Boston Marathon and 11th overall, holds a candle and a flower at Boston Common during a vigil for the victims of the Boston Marathon explosions, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, one day after bombs exploded at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. JULIO CORTZ, AP
People pray during an interfaith candlelight service at the Paulist Center Boston on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, in Boston, Massachusetts. The city is in mourning today for three killed and at least 144 wounded in the bombing at the Boston Marathon. CHRISTOPHER EVANS, MCT
One of the blast sites on Boylston Street near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon is seen in Boston, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, one day after bomb blasts killed three and injured over 140 people. FBI agents searched a suburban Boston apartment overnight and appealed to the public for amateur video and photos that might yield clues to who carried out the Boston Marathon bombing. ELISE AMENDOLA, AP
U.S. President Barack Obama makes a statement about yesterday's bombing at the Boston Marathon, at the White House April 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. MARK WILSON, GETTY IMAGES
This undated photo provided by Bill Richard, shows his son, Martin Richard, in Boston. Martin Richard, 8, was among the at least three people killed in the explosions, Monday, April 15, 2013, at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. AP Photo/Bill Richard
Nicholas Yanni, 32, of Boston, speaks to reporters at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Yanni, and his wife, Lee Ann Yanni, 31, were among the 14 patients injured in the bombing at the finish of the Boston Marathon who were treated at Tufts. AP Photo/Josh Reynolds
This undated photo made available by Brian Gross shows his sister-in-law Nicole Gross, and brother Michael Gross of Charlotte, N.C. The Gross couple were seriously injured when two bombs exploded near the finish line at the Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, 2013. Nicole's sister, Erica Brannock of Maryland, who was also injured, were cheering their mother, who was running the race. AP PHOTO/COURTESY OF BRIAN GROSS
Tuesday morning, the United States and California flags were being flown at half mast in front of the Old Orange County Courthouse, Santa Ana. The flags were lowered today in honor of the dead and wounded from yesterday's bombings at the Boston Marathon. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
National Guard soldiers guard a roadblock near the scene of a twin bombing at the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. SPENCER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES
A memorial canvas is covered with messages during a vigil for victims of the Boston Marathon bombings at Boston Commons on April 16, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. The twin bombings, which occurred near the marathon finish line, resulted in the deaths of three people while hospitalizing at least 140. The bombings at the 116-year-old Boston race, resulted in heightened security across the nation with cancellations of many professional sporting events as authorities search for a motive to the violence. Staff
An MP with the 747 checks an ID on Massachusetts Avenue on April 16, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. Security is especially tight in the city of Boston after two explosions went off near the finish of the Marathon, killing three people and injuring at least 140 others. DARREN MCCOLLESTER, GETTY IMAGES
A runner stands at a security gate near the scene of a twin bombing at the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. The bombings at the 116-year-old Boston race, resulted in heightened security across the nation with cancellations of many professional sporting events as authorities search for a motive to the violence. SPENCER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES
The unfinished meals of fleeing customers are left on tables at an outdoor restaurant near the scene of a twin bombing at the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. SPENCER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES
A U.S. Capitol Police K-9 team works at the entrance of the Capitol South Metro station during rush hour near the U.S. Captiol April 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. Police and other law enforcement agencies in Washington and across the country continue to operate at a heightened state of security after yesterday's Boston Marathon bombings. CHIP SOMODEVILLA, GETTY IMAGES
Runner Megan Cloke pauses after placing flowers on the doorstep of the Richard house in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston,Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Martin Richard,8, was killed in Mondays' bombings at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. The boy's mother, Denise, and 6-year-old sister, Jane, were badly injured. MICHAEL DWYER, AP
Girls leave flowers at the home of 8-year-old Martin Richard who was killed in the explosions at the Boston Marathon, in the Boston neighborhood of Dorchester, April 16, 2013. On Tuesday, a mile-square area of downtown Boston remained cordoned off as a crime scene, and officials still had no one in custody after at least three people were killed and more than 140 were injured. Josh Haner/The New York Times
Neighbors hug outside the home of the Richard family in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Martin Richard, 8, was killed in Mondays bombing at the finish line of the Boston Marathon. MICHAEL DWYER, AP
Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) police officers keep watch during the morning commute in Grand Central Terminal on April 16, 2013 in New York City. The city announced it has continued increased security one day after the Boston Marathon bombings. MARIO TAMA, GETTY IMAGES
Workers find bags containing runners' personal effects as they return them to their owner near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, after explosions killed three and injured more than 140 in Boston, Tuesday, April 16, 2013. CHARLES KRUPA, AP
An Amtrak police canine at the Boston South Station, a day after a bombing attack occurred near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, April 16, 2015. On Tuesday a mile-square area of downtown Boston remained cordoned off as a crime scene, and officials still had no one in custody after at least three people were killed and more than 140 were injured, some of them having lost limbs and suffered grievous wounds. JOSH HANER, NYT
Police officers keep an eye on commuters in the subway in New York, Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Police armed with rifles and extra patrol cars were stationed around the city Tuesday as New York remained in a heightened state of alert until more is known about the bombings at the Boston Marathon. SETH WENIG, AP
Security at John Wayne Airport has been increased in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings. Additional deputies are present at the arrival and departure terminals. JOSHUA SUDOCK, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Speaker of the House John Boehner speaks during a news conference after a House GOP caucus meeting at the Republican National Committee headquarters on Capitol Hill April 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. Boehner and the other Republican leaders made remarks and answered questions about Monday's Boston Marathon bombings. CHIP SOMODEVILLA, GETTY IMAGES
The American flag is lowered at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, honoring the victims of the tragedy in Boston. President Barack Obama ordered flags at the White House and all government buildings to be flown at half-staff in honor of the Boston Marathon explosion victims. SUSAN WALSH, AP
People react as an explosion goes off near the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. Two explosions went off at the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry off the injured while the stragglers were rerouted away from the smoking site of the blasts. DAVID L. RYAN, THE BOSTON GLOBE
Bill Iffrig, 78, lies on the ground as police officers react to a second explosion at the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. Iffrig, of Lake Stevens, Wash., was running his third Boston Marathon and near the finish line when he was knocked down by one of two bomb blasts. JOHN TLUMACKI, THE BOSTON GLOBE
The scene moments after an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 15, 2013. JOHN TLUMACKI, THE BOSTON GLOBE
An injured woman is tended to at the scene of the frirst explosion on Boylston Street near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, Monday, April 15, 2013. JOHN TLUMACKI, THE BOSTON GLOBE
Medical workers aid an injured man at the 2013 Boston Marathon following an explosion in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. DAVID L. RYAN, THE BOSTON GLOBE
An emergency responder and volunteers, including Carlos Arredondo in the cowboy hat, push Jeff Bauman in a wheel chair after he was injured in an explosion near the finish line of the Boston Marathon Monday, April 15, 2013 in Boston. At least three people were killed, including an 8-year-old boy, and more than 170 were wounded when two bombs blew up seconds apart. CHARLES KRUPA, AP
Medical workers aid an injured woman at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon following two explosions there, Monday, April 15, 2013 in Boston. CHARLES KRUPA, AP
Women react as they walk from the area where there was an explosion after the Boston Marathon in Boston, Monday, April 15, 2013. JOSH REYNOLDS, AP
An unidentified Boston Marathon runner leaves the course crying near Copley Square following an explosion in Boston Monday, April 15, 2013. WINSLOW TOWNSON, AP
Tuesday morning, the United States and California flags were being flown at half mast at the Orange County Marine Memorial, in Santa Ana. The flags were lowered today in honor of the dead and wounded from yesterday's bombings at the Boston Marathon. In the background is a a McDonnell Douglas A4 "Skyhawk" fighter plane, a plane used by the U.S. Marine Corps in the Cold War and Vietnam. BRUCE CHAMBERS, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
A day after the Boston Marathon, Maureen Johan, right, embraces her daughter Nicole Rand, near the site of two explosions, in Boston, April 16, 2013. On Tuesday a mile-square area of downtown Boston remained cordoned off as a crime scene, and officials still had no one in custody after at least three people were killed and more than 140 were injured, some of them having lost limbs and suffered grievous wounds. Eric Thayer/The New York Times
A Boston police officer stands near the scene of a twin bombing at the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. The twin bombings, which occurred near the marathon finish line, resulted in the deaths of three people while hospitalizing at least 128. The bombings at the 116-year-old Boston race, resulted in heightened security across the nation with cancellations of many professional sporting events as authorities search for a motive to the violence. SPENCER PLATT, GETTY IMAGES

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